Battlecruisers
A battlecruiser was a type of capital warship popular in the early 20th century through World War Two. They were characterized by high speed, an all big gun armament, and thin armor protection. Real World Information A battlecruiser, or battle cruiser, was a large capital ship built in the first half of the 20th century. They were similar in size and cost to a battleship, and typically carried the same kind of heavy guns, but generally carried less armour and were faster. The first battlecruisers were designed in the United Kingdom in the first decade of the century, as a development of the armoured cruiser, at the same time as the dreadnought succeeded the pre-dreadnought battleship. The original aim of the battlecruiser was to hunt down slower, older armoured cruisers and destroy them with heavy gunfire. However, as more and more battlecruisers were built, they increasingly became used alongside the better-protected battleships. The idea of the battlecruiser is generally credited to the First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy, Sir John Fisher, as a follow on to the revolutionary HMS Dreadnought. They were built to serve as heavy scouts of the battle-fleet, commerce raiders and protectors, and unofficially as extra battleships. While very effective against armored cruisers, they were invariably met with disaster when pitted against real battleships. Battlecruisers served in the navies of Britain, Germany, the Ottoman Empire, Australia and Japan during World War I, most notably at the Battle of the Falkland Islands and in the several raids and skirmishes in the North Sea which culminated in a pitched fleet battle, the Battle of Jutland. British battlecruisers in particular suffered heavy losses at Jutland, where their light armour made them very vulnerable to large-caliber shells. By the end of the war, capital ship design had developed with battleships becoming faster and battlecruisers becoming more heavily armoured, blurring the distinction between a battlecruiser and a fast battleship. The Washington Naval Treaty, which limited capital ship construction from 1922 onwards, treated battleships and battlecruisers identically, and the new generation of battlecruisers planned was scrapped under the terms of the treaty. In Game Uses For the players who grind their resources, battlecruisers will most likely be their first capital warships. This is because of their lack of heavy armor, which make them much cheaper to build than comparable battleships. Lightweight armor is generally enough to allow ships to engage smaller ships, meaning that levels such as Dual Destroyer, Triple Destroyer, Light Cruiser and Heavy Cruiser, are much more manageable. As the players earn more resources, they can refit their battlecruisers with heavier armor, and make them true battleships. In multiplayer, battlecruisers are often relegated to the dock in favor of better protected battleships, however, with a small amount of armor over critical areas, some luck, and considerable skill, battlecruisers can be spectacularly potent. Effective battlecruisers are very fast, which gives them a key advantage over slower battleships, but, unlike cruisers and destroyers, battlecruisers have the similar armaments to battleships and so do not need to close any distance before attacking. As such, it is a good idea to stick to long range engagements, if your enemy is forced to follow you, he can never bring his full broadside to bear. This allows a battlecruiser to put far more shots into the air than a battleship, which makes up for the relative lack of armor. In this way, a sufficiently speedy battlecruiser can wear down a much heavier foe. Armaments of battlecruisers are as varied as those of battleships, but most are between 38cm and 46cm as these have the longest effective ranges. Secondary batteries are also a consideration, with some of the best being the 28cm family, one may also include tertiary and quaternary batteries for dealing with smaller vessels. One may wish to include a torpedo battery, however at a battlecruisers preferred engagement range, torpedo are only minimally effective.. Finally, a large AAA battery is useful for defense. Light to moderate armor is recommended over vital areas, remember not to go overboard however as you need to maintain speed and agility. Category:Ship Type Category:Game Related